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9/26/2012

Kelly Jamieson is one of my favorite authors and I'm thrilled to be one of the stops on her blog tour for her latest release, HOT RIDE. Be sure to answer Kelly's question below and enter the awesomesauce giveaway!Take it away, Kelly!

The fake couple trope — again, but
different

This
story started with me wanting to write about undercover agents, each working
with different agencies, who meet while undercover and are attracted to each
other. They each think the other is someone other than who they really are. My
intention was to keep that going for a while into the story, but Hot Ride
didn't turn out quite like that. As I did research and developed the story, it
turned out that Sera and Ryan had to know about each other. But I did force
them into close proximity by having to play the role of a couple living
together. Oddly enough, my last release, Sweet Deal, also featured a "fake
couple" trope, but wow, what a different book!

In
Sweet Deal, the stakes are high for Shelby, as she doesn't want to lose her
job, the job she had such a hard time finding after her last job ended badly.
The "fake boyfriend" is the answer to a boss who's getting a little
too friendly. The relationship develops between her and Jake because they're
spending time together.

Same could be said for Hot Ride, except the stakes in this case are entirely
different. In my research, I learned how hard it can be to go undercover for a
long period of time. There's the
stress of constantly watching what you say, knowing your new identity and
always staying in character. There's the daily exposure to drugs and the
pressure to use them. There's the constant exposure to crime and danger and
violence. Never being able to trust anyone, constant fear and paranoia. Undercover
agents see things they can't do anything about, people getting beaten and at
worse, killed. One mistake can cost you your life.

There's also the tension between the undercover
operatives and their handlers and bureaucrats, who sometimes might think the
operatives enjoy playing biker a little too much, who worry about how much
financial and human resources are being spent on the mission. Something the
leader of the undercover team is responsible for is making sure that the team
is “separating” —not confusing their undercover lives with their real ones.
It's all physically, emotionally and mentally exhausting. For many real life
undercover agents, it can take a toll on their health.

They face struggles like becoming personally involved
with the criminals they are trying to take down. Difficult decisions
about who to save...and who they can't save. The problem of becoming
personally involved with each other when they're work colleagues. How could you
spend that much time together as a couple, living that closely together,
without that happening?

What
do you think of that whole "fake boyfriend/girlfriend/couple trope? Like
it or hate it?

Kelly
Jamieson - Bio

I'm a married mother of two who lives a very ordinary life outside of my
imagination. When I'm not writing I'm usually reading. I also like to cook and
that means I like to read cookbooks and cooking magazines. In the summer I
enjoy spending time gardening and in the winter I like to read gardening
magazines and seed catalogues. I love lying on the beach or on my deck with a
glass of wine and a good book. I also love to travel. As you can see, pretty
much all my activities involve reading somehow! Although I don't have as much
time for it any more, I also love to shop, especially for clothes and shoes.
Some think I'm obsessed with shoes but that is not true (although my husband
would point out that there is no room left in our closet).

I love to hear from readers, so Tweet me on Twitter, leave me a comment on
Goodreads or Amazon or my blog , or email me at info (at) kellyjamieson.com.

Abandoned or betrayed by everyone she ever loved, Sera Manning’s life
spiraled out of control until a near death experience left her with a mission.
Now a DEA agent, her sole focus -- and her first undercover assignment -- is to
take down a drug cartel that’s manufacturing seductive, deadly angel sugar.

To do it, she needs access to Operation Black Abyss to establish a
connection between the cartel and the Death Angels outlaw motorcycle gang.
Which means she must pose as a couple with another agent who’s already deep
undercover.

ATF agent Ryan Thomas desperately needs a female agent to maintain his cover
in the gang, but the last thing he wants is a rookie agent jeopardizing his op.
Especially one that is a sexy reminder why it’s a bad idea to get involved
while on a case.

Living together, surrounded by crime, pretending their sizzling sexual
tension is just for show is getting harder by the day. But as the mission comes
to a head, the two fiercely independent warriors must decide which fear is
worse. Losing their quarry... or losing each other.

Warning: Features a badass biker hero and kickass heroine who go at it
undercover -- and under the covers.

9/15/2012

I'm so happy to be part of this hop and to share one of my favorite indulgences with all of you. It's not particularly expensive, but it's a decadent treat I look forward to each year. What is this yumminess?

That most DELICIOUS of fall treats...

A STARBUCKS PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE

I know, I know...not very exciting, right? But I love them. The nutmeg, the layers of whipped cream, the aromatic pumpkin flavor...all combine to be a sense explosion that makes my taste buds tingle. I wait for them all year!

Now it's your turn!

First...what can you win?

TWO winners will win the ebook of their choice from my backlist!

(*does not include COWBOY LUST OR NO FLOWERS REQUIRED*)

How to enter?

1) Become a follower of the blog

2) Leave a comment (with your email address) answering this question:

If you could experience any indulgence in the world - and price was no object - what would it be?

And yes, I know this is beyond hard...just pick whichever book works for you today!

And to whet your whistle, here's a HAWT excerpt from NO FLOWERS REQUIRED, my recent release from Entangled Publishing.

Alexa moved whip-fast,
slamming her hands on Dillon’s chest and him against the door before his brain
caught up. The watering can clattered onto the ground. She spared it a brief,
puzzled glance, then fisted her hands in his T-shirt and arched up, her mouth
coming closer—

Fuck it.

He fused his mouth to
hers, and dammit, it was even better than he’d expected. She didn’t yield to him
but struggled a bit, as if she was shocked he’d taken over. That made it even
hotter. He slanted his lips over hers when her startled squeak granted him access
to the warm sweetness inside. Perfect. He took full advantage of her surprise
to explore her with long, slow licks of his tongue.

Maybe his head
couldn’t compute what was happening, but his body sure could. He cupped her ass
and rocked his hips against hers, all too aware of his violent reaction to her
nearness. His dick still hadn’t recovered from their bump-and-grind in her
bathroom and apparently had no trouble asserting its readiness to play.
Recovered now, she didn’t shy away, and instead rubbed against him, her curves
sliding against him in a way that had him groaning and pulling back so hard he thunked
his head on the closed door.

He couldn’t do this.
Oh, God, he had to. She was going wild against him, and he didn’t have any defenses
against his hunger for her. Not when he wanted nothing more than this. Just
this.

“What are we doing?”
he managed as she dragged her lips down his Adam’s apple. Stars danced in his vision
and hell if he knew if they were from the head jolt or from their kiss.

She didn’t answer
him, just skated her hands down his torso and under his shirt. And what hands
they were. She seemed to be touching him everywhere. He clung to her ass as if
she was his only port in the storm, and sure enough, a bolt of lightning
sizzled overhead followed by a crack of thunder. But Alexa never paused. He’d
become her canvas and her fingers were her paintbrush. She sketched every ridge
of muscle, every line of bone. And then the column of his cock, wedged tight
into his jeans. She touched him with confidence and skill, the kind that would
soon have him driving his hands into her hair and pushing her to her knees if
she didn’t stop.

But a woman like her
wasn’t meant for a quick fuck against a door, even if that was what she acted like
she wanted. Even if he longed for her so much that he didn’t care about
anything but stealing this moment and making it theirs. He must be misreading her
signals, though he was pretty adept at picking up sexual cues. Or else he’d
sent some crazy ones of his own.

“Alexa.” Though it
took all his faculties just to get out that one word, she ignored him. Completely.

She cupped him and
nipped his jaw, her teeth offering a sharp counterpoint to her palm’s soft
touch. His shaft lurched in her hold and she let out a delighted purr.

“Lex,” he tried
again, her name ending in a moan.

“You don’t know who I
am.” He expected her to stiffen, to look up at him with those huge bluebell
eyes he’d gone a little nuts for the first time he’d looked at her. She didn’t.

“Alexa, listen to me.” He wrapped her braid
around his hand and tugged up her head, something sharp dislodging inside him
the instant their gazes clashed. In the waning light, he could just make out
the lust on her finely boned face. It transformed her somehow, changed her from
someone he should protect—from him—into a woman he needed at all costs. “You
don’t understand.”

She didn’t. Hell, at
the moment, he didn’t either. Because he didn’t feel like he was lying or
hiding anything. He wanted to strip away the barriers between them, and this
was the best way he knew how. Words were unnecessary, the language of miscommunication.
Kisses and long looks and sultry touches—that was the truth, and she was the
only one he could share it with.

Right now who he
really was didn’t matter. She knew the important stuff. He was a guy. She was a
woman. Certain areas were meant to fit together.Who even cared who his family
was? Maybe she really didn’t even hate the hardware store. Maybe she had a secret
girl-crush on it and went in there every day to fondle all the trusty hammers
and saws…

Yep, he needed help.
The kind he’d find alone by himself, far, far from distractions with anklets
and eyes as big as moons.

“You don’t
understand,” she whispered, gripping the back of his neck. She was tall for a
woman, and even in flats she could reach all the important parts with only a
modicum of stretching. “I don’t want to know who you are. I don’t care. All I
want is for you to make me come.”

9/08/2012

No Flowers Required, book 2 in the Love Required series, released in late August. Hope you enjoy!

Better yet, perhaps she’d found
someone to make her very happy to be alive for a few hours. Someone who would
make her forget about huge spiders, possibly ruined boots, and impending
financial collapse. Though she should
probably talk to him before she started plotting sexcapades.

“I’m assuming you’re
the building handyman?” Alexa prompted.

His lengthy
hesitation earned him a frown he didn’t bother to shift around to see. “Need
some service, ma’am?”

9/07/2012

I'm so happy to have my CP, the incredible Taryn Elliott, visiting today to talk about her wonderful book, ASHES AND WINE from Entangled Publishing. If you click on the cover, you'll see I gave it a cover quote. It's simply one of the best books I've read this year, and she's here today to talk about it. Not only is she an amazing author, she's also funny to boot! Read on through Taryn's great answers to my not-so-insightful questions then answer Taryn's question at the end of the blog for a chance to win a copy of ASHES AND WINE!

Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Cari! I'm so excited to talk about Ashes and Wine and the future of that series. I ramble a bit. Cari is a total rockstar for putting up with my rambly side AND she even let me on her blog? You know it's love between us. ;)

1) Ashes and Wine is one of those books that totally takes you by surprise. You think it's just going to be a quick easy read, and then you peel back all the layers of love and loss. Why did you choose to write this story?

I wish I could say it was a conscious choice. I was supposed to be writing another book but Royal and Tessa took over. This was a true fly by the seat of my pants book. It ended up being quite cathartic for me in the end. Dealing with all the emotions that cancer brings on is never easy, but I wanted to show the hope and the loss at the same time.

2) Which character came first for you--Royal or Tessa? Why are they perfect for each other?

Tessa came first. She's had a few different incarnations over the years, but in the end I needed to let her have a happily ever after with someone as strong, loving and loyal as Royal is. Tessa is so used to taking care of everyone else that it was natural for her to want to do the same with Royal, but what she wasn't prepared for is just how much he needed to reciprocate. It caused a bit of conflict for both of them. Royal's need to take care of her was hampered by the needs of his family. And because of that he thought he wasn't able to give enough of himself to her. She set him straight of course. Usually with a little punch to his rock hard stomach. But just a tiny one. ;)

3) Mercy and Alaric--I want their book! Can you give us a sneak peek of what we can expect from their story?

Well, you'll be happy to know that Mercy and Alaric are much lighter. LOL No deep, angsty loss in this book. Nope, it's all about them fighting their way into a relationship. A true opposites attract story. Mercy likes her independence. She doesn't want a man distracting her for more than an evening. And Alaric does nothing but distract her and make her crazy. Alaric, on the other hand, is used to dealing with difficult people. He's quite sure that if he holds out long enough she'll do what he wants. Is it wrong that a maniacal laugh just came out of me? Yeah...handle Mercy? Oh that poor, poor boy. Rude awakenings are so fun.

4) What's next for you?

A couple of Christmas/holiday themed stories are on the docket. One has been contracted with Loose Id and the other is sitting in my Ellora's Cave editor's greedy hands. The Loose Id book is going to be probably one of the sexiest books I've written to date. Road trip with a side of sexy times and misunderstandings with a blindside of love and happily ever after. Who doesn't want that for Christmas? It starts out just before Thanksgiving and ends on New Year's. *rubs hands together* I'm having a blast with the Christmas themes. Even if I'm a little sad that Summer is just about over.

Then I have Mercy and Alaric, Matt and Jade which is book two from my Ellora's Cave book, UNCROSS YOUR HEART, as well as a SEEEEKRIT project that Cari Quinn and I are working on this winter. *rubs hands* 4 couples, 4 books, and Salem, MA as our setting. I can't wait for that one either! In fact we're heading back to Salem in September to get reacquainted with our favorite spot.

5) Just for fun: you're stuck in an elevator with two men--one book boyfriend of someone else's creation and one book boyfriend from your own books. Who are they and why?

Ooh. Evil girl.

I'll go with Matt Cross from my Cross Brothers series. As much as I love Royal, and Nate from my first book, UNCROSS YOUR HEART, I think my heart belongs to the musician that I'll be writing about this winter. Gosh, he's so angsty and talented and filled with badboy sexiness. GROWL. But he's also very sensitive and funny as all get out. Every single one of my triggers all wrapped up in six feet of delicious.

And then JD Robb's Roarke from her In Death series because I'm a masochist. One because Eve Dallas would kick my ass for the thoughts I have about that man and Two...hello? Have you READ the In Death books? If not...for shame. You.Must.Read.Them. Irish billionaire with shoulder length dark hair and scalding eyes, alpha without being too obnoxious about it, generous to a fault, and for God's sake he still has Eve's button in his pocket from the first day they met! THIS is the man that we dream about.

Holy vibrating elevator, Batman. I'd be a DEAD woman.

6) Where can we find you on the web?

I'm all over twittah like a bad rash https://twitter.com/TarynElliottFic

I have a FB fan page for updates and writerly stuff. https://www.facebook.com/TarynElliottAuthor
But go ahead and friend request me on my regular FB if you want to see all the goodies about me like my obsession with tv, reading, music and my other ramblings. https://www.facebook.com/TarynElliottFic

Oh and if you like a little fun with pictures I have a tumblr and pinterest board. Heh. You can find all of that at my website http://tarynelliott.com/Want a chance to win a copy of the AMAZING ASHES AND WINE? Just answer Taryn's question (and please leave your email address) in the comments! Who would be YOUR book boyfriend of choice if you were stuck in an elevator?

9/05/2012

Welcome to Katee Robert, NYT and USA Today bestselling author of WRONG BED, RIGHT GUY! Katee's fabulous book helped launch Entangled Publishing's Brazen line and instantly rocketed up the charts. Not only do Katee and I share a line at Entangled, we also share an awesomesauce editor. So happy to have her here today!Be sure to leave a comment/question for Katee (with your email address) so YOU can be entered to win a copy of WRONG BED, RIGHT GUY!

1) If you had to tell us about Wrong Bed, Right Guy in 140 characters or less, what would they be?

Good girl sneaks into bed with the wrong man. Chaos and smexy times ensue.

2) Wrong Bed, Right Guy starts off the Come Undone series. Since Gabe is so completely yum, can you tell us a little bit about the other men in the series to get us salivating?

Oh yes! The next book in the series has Elle's brother, Ian, as the hero. He's former Army, and waaaaay too gorgeous for his own good (*coughJensenAcklescough*). He tries to keep on the "right" path, but he's got an inner caveman just waiting to be released.

Nathan will (finally!) be the hero in the third book. He's also former Army (which is how he met Ian), and now owns a few art galleries and spends his time creating scrap-metal sculptures. If you've read WBRG, you know he's got a secret past, and his book will bring everything to light.

3) Gabe from WBRG is one delicious tattooed hunk of a man. Why do you think tattoos make a guy so sexy?

I'll be the first to admit it. I'm a total tattoo snob. If it doesn't mean something personal to you, what's the point? But men who understand that and have tattoos that are more art than "Hey, dude, I'm tough, look at my ink!" are hot. They are allowing a window of opportunity to see who they really are, if only you know how to look.

4) Tell us a little about Elle, Gabe's heroine in WBRG. Why do you think she and Gabe are so perfect for each other?

Elle has all the trappings of a good girl. Except she has a serious weakness for tattoos and the men who wear them. She brings an element to Gabe's life that he's never experienced before. He helps her loosen up and just relax. Also, they have some really intense chemistry!

5) Just for fun: you get to run away to a tropical island with one of your heroes. Which one would you pick and why?

I have Come Undone #2 releasing in October and then an Indulgence called Fool Proof Love. Lots of chaos and good times ahead. You can find more details and updates at kateerobert.com and @katee_robert on twitter.

9/01/2012

Welcome to Six Sentence Sunday, No Flowers Required style! No Flowers Required, book 2 in the Love Required series, just released last week so I'm excited to be kicking of its 1st Six Sentence Sunday post. Plus NFR's gorgeous cover is on the Six Sentence Sunday site for September! Woot! :D Hope you enjoy!Abruptly, Alexa stopped in front of an open apartment door and widened her eyes. Who was that?

A man wearing tight jeans and a black T-shirt stretched tight over a taut back meant for fingernail marks knelt in the middle of an apartment with a floor plan just like hers, methodically ripping up strips of the laminate. He faced away from her, which gave her the perfect opportunity to study the bunch and flex of muscles in his sinewy forearms. He wore some sort of copper cuff around one wrist, and a tattoo flashed from under the sleeve on his other arm. She couldn’t make out what the tat was, but one thing she could discern with no trouble at all--beefcake boy had a hell of an ass.Want more Six Sentence Sunday? Click HERENo Flowers Required blurb/excerpt/buy link: Click HERE